Question 1

What is Job asking for when he says, "Hear diligently my speech"?

Accepted Answer

When Job says, “Hear diligently my speech,” he is begging his friends to really listen instead of just arguing. Their words have only added to his pain, so he asks that careful listening be their “consolation” to him. He wants them to stop assuming they already know why he suffers and to pay attention to what he is actually saying. For Job, being heard honestly is a form of comfort, even if they still disagree afterward. It shows respect for his struggle and for the hard questions he raises about God’s justice.

Question 2

Why does Job complain if he knows his complaint is to God and not to man?

Accepted Answer

Job says his complaint is not to man but to God because only God can answer the deep questions of his suffering. He knows people cannot fix his pain or fully explain it. That is why his “spirit is troubled.” He is not just venting; he is wrestling with God’s ways. His trouble comes from seeing that his experience does not match the simple rule his friends repeat, that good people always prosper and bad people always suffer. So he pours out his confusion honestly before God, even when he does not get clear answers.

Question 3

Why does this passage say the wicked live long and prosper?

Accepted Answer

Job points out that many wicked people have long lives, strong families, safe homes, and steady success. Their animals thrive, their children dance, and they enjoy music and wealth. They often die quickly and quietly, without a long sickness. This does not mean their way of life is right, or that God approves. It shows that in this life things do not always line up neatly with what people deserve. Job uses this to challenge his friends’ idea that you can read a person’s heart by looking at their outward circumstances.

Question 4

What does it mean when the wicked say, "Depart from us" to God?

Accepted Answer

When the wicked say, “Depart from us,” it shows their heart toward God. They enjoy his gifts but do not want him himself. They do not want to know his ways, serve him, or pray to him. They ask, “What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?” In other words, they see no benefit in obeying God. Their comfort and wealth make them feel independent, so they push God away. This passage shows how prosperity can harden people, even while the good they have still ultimately comes from God’s hand.

Question 5

What does this chapter teach about God’s justice and timing?

Accepted Answer

This chapter teaches that God’s justice is real, but his timing and ways are not always seen on the surface of life. The wicked may seem secure for a long time, and the righteous may suffer deeply. Job says the wicked are “reserved to the day of destruction” and will face God’s wrath, even if their present life looks easy. He also shows that God alone judges those who are high. No one can teach God or correct his plan. This calls for humility, patience, and faith when life feels unfair and simple answers do not fit.

Question 6

Why does Job compare the deaths of the prosperous and the bitter?

Accepted Answer

Job describes one person who dies “in his full strength,” at ease and well fed, and another who dies “in the bitterness of his soul,” never tasting pleasure. Outwardly, both end up the same: they lie in the dust, and worms cover them. He is showing that death levels people on the outside and that you cannot tell a person’s standing with God just by how their life went. Some who seem blessed die peacefully, some in anguish, but God sees the heart. This again pushes back against his friends’ quick judgments.

Question 7

What does it mean that the wicked are reserved to the day of destruction?

Accepted Answer

When the passage says the wicked are reserved to the day of destruction, it means that God may allow them to go on for a time, often without open rebuke, but that this does not erase judgment. They are being held for a future day when God will deal with their sin fully. People may flatter them in life, no one may dare confront them, and they might be buried with honor, yet God’s day of wrath still stands. This helps explain why their present prosperity does not cancel the reality of God’s justice.

Question 8

How were Job’s friends trying to use the fate of the wicked against him?

Accepted Answer

Job’s friends used the idea of the wicked’s downfall to accuse him. They looked at his ruined house and losses and said this must be what happens to the wicked. In their view, the destroyed home of a “prince” was a sure sign of guilt. Job answers by pointing to many wicked people whose houses stand firm. He says if they would ask people with wide experience, they would hear that the wicked often prosper for a time and are kept for a later day of destruction. So their attempt to judge him by his suffering is unfair and shallow.

Question 9

How can this passage help someone who is suffering and feels life is unfair?

Accepted Answer

This passage gives voice to the feeling that life is unfair. It shows that a faithful person can honestly say, “Why do the wicked live and become powerful while I suffer?” God did not rebuke Job for asking hard questions. Instead of hiding these tensions, the chapter puts them in front of God. For someone in pain, this can be a relief. It invites you to bring confusion and grief to God, not to pretend that everything makes sense. It also gently reminds you that God’s justice and timing are bigger than what we see right now.

Job 21:1

But Job answered and said,

Job: God Will Punish the Wicked

Job: God Will Punish the Wicked

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Job 21:1

But Job answered and said,

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Job: God Will Punish the Wicked

Job: God Will Punish the Wicked

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